In summary goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement & enables one to unleash his full potentials for personal and professional success.

Like other subjects, goal setting is an art and it takes mastery to reap maximum dividends. It might sound ambiguous but trust me, it’s really no big deal if only you can master and internalize the ABC of goal setting and actualization. I have decided to arrange them in a reverse order:

C – Conceive (Create Your Future)

This is the first stage of Goal setting where the conception of your ideal future takes shape in the womb of your mental chambers. It involves designing the final product and creating the ideal result mentally, some will call it building castles in the air. It is the ability to project several days, months or years into the future like creating a fantasy. It is the process of practicing idealization without limitation. “Visualizing your Ideal future”

Here the vital questions are what and where.

What do I want to achieve in the next 5 years?

What grades do I want to hit at the end of the academic semester?

What kind of relationship do I want?

Where do aspire to be in few years from now?

B – Believe (Reprogram Your Mindset)

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he

Thought patterns has so much effect on our performances than we can imagine. After visualization comes the reality. At this point you need to draw the realities of the future in a blueprint in the present. This stage is the hidden seemingly inconsequential stage, yet it plays a critical role in goal-setting and actualization because what you believe is what you eventually become.

Change your thinking, Change your life

One’s life is a reflection of his beliefs while one’s outward attitude and behaviour are reflections of his inward beliefs and values. The core of a man’s personality is his values and his values constructs his belief. Ultimately, one’s belief is not inherent. It is a product of varieties of information and experiences acquired in his life time. Therefore, it is his responsibility always to learn and unlearn at every stage in life because beliefs are the bed rock of one’s self-esteem.

If you must actualize your goals then, you must believe,

in yourself,

that you are capable of getting it done,

that your abilities are equal to the task,

that the process is worth it,

that the risk is worth taking,

in the ethics of hard work & discipline,

that the goal is achievable.

A – Achieve (Action Oriented)

After visualizing and reprogramming your mindset for success the next step is action time. A wise sage once said that,

It is good to build castles in the air but after that, get to work building the foundation on the ground

This is the actualization stage where you snap out of your fantasy land and embrace reality, this is the stage where you make decisions which must align to your beliefs and visualization. This is where your thoughts, your words and your actions must correspond to achieve success. It is at this point that productivity and creativity collides for maximum achievement.

At this stage, your goal must be specific in order to measure your progress & sharpen your focus. This is where the ultimate question is asked, how?

How can I make $1million in 6 months?

How can I build a successful startup in 2 years?

How can I make dinstinction in my courses this academic session?

At this stage only 2 things matter, knowing what you want & willingness to pay the price to get it. This stage is a journey and involves so many elements like setbacks, challenges, difficulties, and experiences, but they exist to refine and strengthen you to achieve your goal provided you don’t Give up nor quit along the way.

In conclusion, it is said that “whatever a man can conceive and believe, he can achieve“.